ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team took a 2-0 lead and held on late, adding two empty net goals to defeat the No. 14-ranked Augsburg University by a score of 4-1 Friday evening at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
The win secures three points in the MIAC standings as the Gusties move ahead of the Auggies with a 7-2 conference record while improving to 8-7-3 overall. The victory also stands as the first Gustavus win over a ranked opponent since the 2012-13 Gusties defeated top-ranked St. Norbert College.
Despite being outshot 14-6 and Augsburg owning an 18-6 advantage in faceoffs in the first frame, Jake McCann’s (Sr., Shoreview, Minn.) goal at the 12:52 minute mark gave Gustavus a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. During a 3-2 opportunity, McCann waited out the Auggie defender and roofed his fourth of the season past netminder Nick Schmit.
The Gusties went on their second power play chance eight minutes into the second period and capitalized quickly to gain a 2-0 lead. Will LeNeave (Fy., Medina, Minn.) slid a back-door pass right on the tape of Colton Schmidt (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) for the eventual game-winner.
Augsburg got on the board with a power play goal of their own at 15:12 as a shot from the point snuck past Chris Amsden (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) to cut the Gustavus lead to 2-1. The Auggies poured on the pressure in the remaining minutes of the second and continued during a back-and-forth third period, eventually outshooting the Gusties 36-31.
The Auggies pulled their goalie with under two minutes remaining in an attempt to tie the game. After timeouts by both teams with 50 seconds remaining with a faceoff in the Black and Gold defensive zone, Colin Hernon (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) pushed the puck forward off the draw, springing forward the speedy Evan Erickson (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) for the empty net goal and the 3-1 lead. JP Eykyn (Fy., Waseca, Minn.) added another empty-netter late to seal the 4-1 victory.
Amsden tallied a season-high 35 saves to earn the win, improving his record to 6-4-1 on the season.
Gustavus goes for the series sweep tomorrow night in Minneapolis, Minn. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink.